Zero data deal for key messaging apps

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Virgin Media mobile customers rejoice! 4G is finally being rolled out for you, allowing you to harness the power of EE’s superfast network. There’s more to the rollout than faster internet though, with Virgin also offering customers free WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger action.

That means any message, picture or video you send on either social app will not be deducted from your data allowance if you opt for one of the new mobile plans.

This doesn’t include voice and video calls within the applications though, so you’ll still burn through your data using these functions if you’re not connected to Wi-Fi.

Keep on rolling

The new Virgin Media tariffs also allow you to roll over any unused data to the next month – although the rolled-over data will expire when you finish that month.

A Virgin Media spokesperson told us: “The rolled-over data does not accumulate – it lasts one month. However, there is no limit to how much contract data someone can rollover.

“For example, if you’re on a 20GB contract and you only use 15GB in January then 5GB is transferred to February. If you only use 1GB data in the whole of February then 20GB is transferred to March (the 4GB of rolled over data from January expires).”

4G has been a long wait for Virgin Media customers, with the faster network having been available on all the major networks for quite some time.

"We wanted to make sure we launched 4G properly and wanted to do something different from our competitors, which is why we’re offering free messaging on WhatsApp and Messenger," the spokesperson told us.

We're still waiting to hear if access to the full EE network – which features 'double speed' for higher-paying customers – will be offered to Virgin Media users. We've contacted the network again to clarify, and will update the story if we find out.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Phones, Tablets and Wearables UK Editor

John (Twitter, Google+) got his first phone aged 12 and since then he's been fixated on all things mobile, churning his way through a multitude of handsets, tablets and wearables. Signalling his arrival at TechRadar by becoming a Guinness World Record holder in his first week, John hasn't looked back since.